DS Download Service: March 2

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A shiftaround, but nothing new this week.

By Craig Harris

Since the launch of the Nintendo Channel for the Wii earlier this year, Nintendo has been providing a DS Download Service with demos of released and upcoming DS games. Wii owners can boot up the DS Download Service through the Nintendo Channel and download various playable demos directly to their Nintendo DS, using the Download Play option. It works in the same way as the in-store download stations. The third-party games get updated every week and we've got info on this week's batch to let you know a little more about what you're getting.

The week of March 2

Imagine Ice Champions Demo Even though winter's winding down, the demo channel has just lit up with Ubisoft's latest, an ice skating game for the girl crowd. The demo is the first portion of the game where you learn the different moves, originally released in February.

MLB 2K9 Fantasy All-Stars Demo Last year's version of the 2K Sports' game was pretty lame, so let's hope this year fixes the previous edition's problem. The demo is quite confusing, though, so good luck trying to figure out the controls if you're new to the franchise.

Avalon Code Demo XSeed continues to crank out the Japanese imports. This latest action RPG introduces a few strategic elements, and the demo now available on the Nintendo Channel gives you a sampling of the gameplay items you can expect in the extensive adventure.

Nintendo also keeps a selection of first party titles up for download. They're not cycled out as often and most of them have been there since the Nintendo Channel launched.

Personal Trainer: Cooking Lasagna Demo The Nintendo DS cookbook is now available in stores, and to give owners a little taste test (ha ha) Nintendo's thrown a freebie demo of the software up on the Nintendo Channel where you can follow along, step by step, to make some truly kick-ass Lasagna.

Personal Trainer: Math Demo If you're unsure if math can be fun on the Nintendo DS, give this demo a download: you'll take part in the game's Kageyama method in solving math problems using the touchscreen to hand write all the answers as quickly as possible.

Mystery Case Files: MillionHeir The demo offers one of the levels for the hide and seek portion of the game. Players are given five minutes to find eight items in the level. Upon completion, players can start again, and find eight different items. We played it three times without having to repeat items.

Brain Age The older sibling of the Brain Age 2 demo. It's the same kind of deal. There's a Brain Age Test minigame that has players shout colors into the DS microphone. The training game is a simple math problem test that uses the touch screen to write. Sudoku is in this one too, which means you've got two free sudoku puzzles you can play if you get both demos.

Brain Age 2 The Brain Age 2 demo features three quick play modes. There's the Brain Age Test that will give the player an approximate brain age based on a verbal match of rock, paper, scissors. There's also a quick play training mode that shows off the rotating letters minigame, complete with touch screen letter recognition. Finally the Quick play sudoku lets players enjoy a quick sudoku puzzle in one of the better presentations for the system.

Flash Focus Flash Focus is a game designed to improve focus and hand-eye coordination. It features a simplified Eye Age test where players remember the direction letters are facing as they flash by on the screen. The training game is more hands on. It's a baseball minigame where players have to tap the ball to hit it. The pitches get harder each time the player connects with the ball and the game ranks you at the end.

Crosswords DS For the non-Sudoku inclined, Crosswords DS features the classic crossword puzzles that have been gracing newspapers long before number puzzles. The demo features the classic Crosswords mode, one of three gameplay modes in the final version. Players can select the difficulty of the puzzle, as well as the option to turn on an assist mode that lets the player know if the answer is right or wrong. The whole demo uses the touch screen so players can see how well the letter recognition system works.